The field of the present invention is mechanisms for maintaining swinging or pendular movement.
Mechanisms for maintaining swinging movement in a pendulum are old in the art of clocks, Foucault pendulums and the like. In addition to time pieces, mechanisms for maintaining a swinging or pendular motion are useful in swinging seats or bassinets for infants, small children and the like. Such mechanisms maintain swinging action automatically without the intervention of an adult. The swinging action of the child's seat helps pacify the child and keep it in a contented state.
Mechanisms for maintaining pendular movement, hereinafter referred to as swinging mechanisms, which may be adapted for use in children's swinging chairs must meet special requirements. Most importantly, they must be capable of swinging the chair despite wide variations in the weight and height of the child, which affects the period of the pendulum formed by the seat or bassinet and child. Swinging mechanisms should also be safe when used with children and easy to operate. If battery-powered, they should use little power to avoid running down the batteries too quickly.